Springfield’s homes and were lit by gas starting in 1855. The Illinois State Journal declared that gas light “is not only more brilliant than that of candles and lamps but…is much cheaper and more convenient.” “The City is now lighted up with Gas with great success,” John T. Stuart wrote to his daughter in February […]
Erika Holst
Posted inArts & Culture
She was a volunteer from the word go
ELSIEJANE “NING” O’KEEFE “I’m a better person because my life touched Ning’s,” said Elizabeth Kloppenburg of her dear friend, Elsiejane “Ning” Staley O’Keefe, who died Aug. 4. It is a sentiment echoed by many in Springfield. This city was Ning’s love, and much of her adult life was spent in service to its people and […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Springfield’s first hanging
Nathanial Van Noy holds the dubious double distinction of being both the first murderer in Sangamon County as well as the first person to be hanged in Springfield. But it wasn’t the murder itself that made him infamous; it was the bizarre and gruesome spectacle of his hanging, when Van Noy tried to cheat death. […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Back to college
Heading off to college is a major transition in the life of a young adult – and that young adult’s parents. The process of organizing, packing, moving and finding one’s way in a new environment while maintaining ties to home is a process that is as challenging as it is ultimately rewarding. What follows […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Parenting issues in Lincoln’s Springfield
Many of the issues parents face today would have seemed like science fiction in Abraham Lincoln’s time. How do we monitor our kids’ online activities? At what age should they get cell phones? How do we balance “screen time” with sports, homework and playing outside? Yet as far as parenting philosophies go, the Lincolns and […]
Posted inNews
A history of Springfield romances
Love to last a lifetime Sarah Blanchard and Stuart PatersonWhen Sarah Lee Blanchard of Springfield entered the University of Michigan in the fall of 1961, she had no idea she would cross paths with the love of her life. In fact, she thought she had already found him: the dark-haired, brown-eyed beauty was going steady […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
A new philosophy of parenting
Attachment Parenting is the hotly debated parenting philosophy that emphasizes close physical proximity between caregivers and children (co-sleeping, babywearing, and breastfeeding) as well as parental responsiveness to a child’s signals of distress. Critics say that it is too demanding of parents and leads to clingy, spoiled children. Proponents argue that children are better able […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
There’s more to know about breastfeeding
We’ve all heard that “breast is best.” Yet despite vast amounts of data on the benefits of breastmilk to infants, only 47 percent of babies are still breastfed at age six months, and only 25 percent are breastfed at one year. Why are these numbers so low, especially in light of the fact that […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Springfield’s role in preserving the dead
Before the Civil War, embalming was mainly done in America by medical men seeking to preserve corpses for anatomical study. It wasn’t until the outbreak of the Civil War, when tens of thousands of soldiers died on battlefields far from home, that embalming came into fashion as a means of preserving bodies before burial. And […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
I take my baby to work
Like most people, I sometimes have “those days” at work – days where the phone rings off the hook, people walk in needing immediate assistance, a report needs to get done yesterday, and 20 urgent emails are piled up in the inbox. Unlike most people, “those days” for me occasionally include the added stressor of […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Living pictures come to life again
“The ladies of Springfield gave a grand Tableaux last week for the benefit of the Soldiers Aid Society,” Mercy Conkling wrote to her son in 1862. “It was a brilliant affair. Mrs. Edwards told me it was decidedly the handsomest entertainment ever got up in this place.” The tableau vivant, or “living picture,” was a […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Green houses
Homeowners can’t escape to-do lists – weekend chores, long-term DIY projects, or even plans and designs for building a dream home from the ground up. A growing number of homeowners are adding “make my home greener” to those to-do lists, and they can pick from a variety of projects that fit any budget, goal and […]
